Lemon tree leaves drooping is a nightmare for any gardener growing this fruiting beauty. These trees require just the right amount of everything to grow happily and keep producing fruits.
But how do you know what exactly you should adjust to prevent those drooping leaves? Well, keep on reading to find out the common reasons why it happens and the ways to fix it.
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Why Do Lemon Tree Leaves Droop?
Lemon tree leaves droop due to watering issues, root damage, or even nutrient deficiency, and due to root damages and shocks. It can be because of temperature extremes, poor air flow, infections, or fruit forming. Moreover, the season may impact as well as the life cycle.
But how to know exactly what’s going on, and you would see this through observation and how the plant’s features are changing. Watching over your own habits as well as the conditions in which your trees are growing will make all the difference when preventing and reversing drooping leaves.
– Watering Issues
Lemon trees are pretty picky when it comes to soil moisture. Both watering the plant excessively and also in a lacking way can lead to the same drooping result. Other symptoms may be curling leaves, tree leaves turning yellow, and even brown spots.
The lemon tree prefers to avoid being in soil that’s always too wet. Overwatering can lead to root rot and a host of other issues that can cause your tree leaves curling and even turn yellow. But so can be irrigated less than necessary.
It’s important to establish a consistent watering schedule to keep your lemon tree healthy and happy. Make sure to check the soil regularly and only water when the top two inches are dry.
– Nutrient Instability
Just like us, citrus trees need a balanced diet to thrive. They’re heavy feeders, meaning they need regular doses of fertilizer to keep those juicy fruits coming. When there is the lack of nutrients, the plant would be in a stressed situation.
When a tree doesn’t get enough vital nutrients like nitrogen and magnesium, its leaves turn yellow and eventually fall off. This holds especially true for your potted trees where they don’t have access to all the micronutrients found in soil — supplement these with organic fertilizers like azomite and kelp.
These miracle workers contain trace minerals that your tree needs to stay healthy and strong. But don’t get too excited with the fertilizer, as over-fertilization can shock your tree, causing leaf drops and other unpleasant side effects.
– Root Damage and Shock
If your tree was recently transplanted or has shallow roots exposed, it might be experiencing transplant shock. This can be a common issue after a lemon tree is moved to a new area of the garden or repotted. To help your tree through this rough patch, it’s important only to transplant when necessary and provide mulch to protect those shallow roots.
Transplant shock can take up to a year to recover from, but if the roots are damaged, the tree may continue to struggle or even decline in health. Remember, transplant shock occurs when the plant adjusts to a new environment and establishes a new root system.
– Temperature Extremes
Citrus trees may seem like tough tropical plants, but they can be quite finicky about the temperature. Extreme heat above 95 degrees can stress your tree, leading the leaves to droopy, and this is when you don’t provide ample moisture. Cold temperatures can also cause harm, while a bit of chill won’t do too much harm; you should avoid exposing your plant to freezing temperatures or sudden drops.
– Poor Air Flow
Imagine if you were sitting next to a drafty window that kept swinging between hot and cold air. Your citrus tree feels the same way. So, keep it away from heating or air conditioning vents, drafty windows, and doors.
– Infections
Lemon trees may be beautiful, but not invincible as there are plenty of diseases that can cut their throat, and with this, one common disease is root rot, caused by the fungus Phytophthora. Overwatering your meyer lemon tree can create the perfect conditions for this fungus to thrive. To prevent this rot, wait until the top inch of soil is dry before watering and ensure proper drainage.
Another pesky disease is the greasy spot— a fungal infection that results in dark leaf lesions and eventual leaf drop. This fungus loves dark and damp conditions, so good airflow and avoiding overwatering are essential to prevent its spread.
Sooty mold is yet another fungal disease that plagues these trees. This disease is caused by honeydew, a sticky substance that insects like aphids or scale release. Mold isn’t usually detrimental to the plant tissue, but can still lead to drooping and dropping leaves if it develops on nodes.
– Fruit Are Forming
When spring rolls around, and your tree starts bearing fruit, it’s not uncommon for it to droop or even shed some leaves. This is a normal process in which the tree conserves energy for the more important tasks — producing juicy fruits for you to enjoy.
During this time, the tree redirects its resources toward its reproductive efforts, leaving less energy for maintaining its foliage. So, if you see a few leaves falling, it’s not a cause for concern. In fact, the tree will soon replace those leaves with fresh, new ones. If your tree starts dropping excessive leaves even at this stage, it’s best to investigate the root cause, and for this, you can still have a pest infestation, disease, or environmental stress.
– Seasons Can Affect the Tree
Like other fruit trees, citrus trees usually don’t experience a true dormant period. While this means you can prune them year-round, they can still lose leaves during winter. When the weather gets too chilly for new growth, these trees may drop leaves.
– Just a Cycle of Life
It’s perfectly normal for citrus trees to shed some leaves as they age. You might see those leaves beginning to droop and fall when lemon trees reach to be four years old. However, if your tree is losing a bunch of lemon tree leaves all at once, then it’s time to investigate further.
How To Help Your Lemon Tree Leaves Stop From Drooping?
To help your lemon tree leaves stop drooping, you can adjust the right temperature and repair the nutrients and soil issues it can go through. In addition, you should perfect your watering schedule, and improve the pest issues that it could face.
– Adjust the Right Temperature
The temperature is a huge determiner of how the plant thrives and keeps its leaves looking healthy. At times, it can be due to the season that it goes through a shock, but don’t worry; once the temperatures warm up again in the spring, your tree should start growing new leaves in no time, quickly replacing the ones it lost during the winter.
The best temperature for this tree is between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit; knowing this, if the temperature is cold and the plant is in a pot, you can move it indoors. Remember that these trees also like to have a bit of that temperature drop at night and these plants prefer five to 10 degrees less and are cooler at night.
If you’re growing your tree indoors, consider setting up a system that can regulate the temperature and keep it in the ideal range. Also, good airflow is essential for a healthy tree. Fresh air helps prevent the growth of harmful diseases. So, make sure your plant has enough space around it to breathe and grow.
– Repair Nutrient and Soil Issues
Lemon trees can only go with the right nutrients, so you should place some slow-release fertilizer that will provide the crucial NPK macronutrients your tree needs. Still, consider adding some magnesium, copper, and zinc for healthy tree leaves.
Soil pH is another variable to focus on. Lemon trees need slightly acidic soil to be able to soak in the nutrients, and the ideal pH sits between 6.0 and 7.0. With this crucial component, you can give your tree all the nutrients you want, and it will produce healthy leaves, flowers, or fruit. In short, keep an eye on the soil and occasionally add some organic components to it, such as mulch or compost to get it on the acidic side.
– Perfect Your Watering
One easy way to determine if your lemons need water is to use your finger, and as you stick it into the soil, and if it feels dry to the touch, it’s time to give your tree some water. Check the soil every week, especially near the trunk of the tree. This is the area with the largest concentration of fine feeder roots, so you need to make sure that they get enough moisture.
A moisture meter is another useful tool to determine when to water your trees. Generally, give your citrus trees a deep watering, ensuring the water reaches every spot in the soil. For container-grown plants, wait to stop until you see water coming out of the drainage holes in the pot.
– Improve Your Pest Management
Pests and diseases can definitely shift our plans with lemon plants. Prevention is key here, so you must regularly check your tree for any signs of infection and deal with the problem immediately.
As for the safety measures, you should immediately prune out the infected parts of the tree. Natural pest control methods such as neem oil solution sprays are another way to go! You can make these easily at home by mixing a few teaspoons of neem or other horticultural oils in water and store in a spraying bottle.
Beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings are perfect sidekicks to keep the pests in check. You can call them to aid by growing flower beds near your lemon trees. Also, keeping the area around the tree clean of fallen leaves and debris can help.
Conclusion
Drooping leaves on lemon trees isn’t a pretty sight, especially if you were hoping for some fruits instead, so your tree definitely has some life in it still; you just need to find the answer in the lines of this article:
- Trees often droop their leaves, which is sometimes a sign they’re giving way to more important things, such as growing new branches or developing fruit buds.
- However, suppose the droop isn’t a local issue but is systematically happening on the entire tree, along with yellow leaves.
- You should look at things like watering, feeding, or even if there are any bugs and diseases on the prowl.
- Most likely, you’ll be able to save your lemon from the dumpster by addressing your fertilization, minding your potting mix pH, and appropriating your watering regime.
- Be sure to give those pests a blow with some natural fungicides.
By taking these steps, you can help ensure that your lemon tree stays healthy and happy, and won’t experience any more drooping citrus leaves in the future.
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